Method of purifying gas.



C. F. MUORE.

METHOD 0F PURIFYING GAS. APPLICATION FILED DEC. I7, 1913.

Patented May 23,1916.

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CARLTON' F. MOORE, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, ASSIGNOR TO STATES' SMIELT- ING, Gr c MINING- COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE. g

METHOD F PURIIE'YIN G GAS.

' 1,184,041@ l specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 23, 1916,

Application filed December 17, 1913. Serial No. 807,226. i

To aZZwwm it may concern: ciently purified for some purposes by this Be it known thatl I, CARLTON F. Moons, method, it` has not hereto-fore been consida citizen of the United States, residing at ered-feasible to secure the continuous sup- Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake ply of pure gas requisite for the successful and State of Utah, have invented certain practice of the contact method of making new and .useful Improvements in Methods sulfuric acid by the filtration of the dust of Purifying Gas; and I do hereby declare laden gases through bags. Heretofore it has the following tobe a full, clear, and exact been the practice in filtering dust laden suldescription of the invention, such as will enfur dioxid carrying gases through bags to able others skilled in the art to which it apremove the accumulation of dust from the pertains to make and use the same. interior of the bags at comparatively fre- T e invention relates to a method of puri-` quent intervals, either by shaking the bags ying dust laden gases from ore treating or or by passing a current of air through the ot er furnaces for use in the manufacture of bags in the direction opposite to the flow of sulfuric acid by the contact process. gases. This periodical cleaning of the bags making sulfuric acid by the contact is necessary, since the layer of dust accumuprocess in which a platinum atalyzer is utila-ting upon the interior of the bags would lized to bring about the oxldation of the sulotherwise vsoon become thick enough to pre- `fur dioxid contained in t e gases passin vent the passage of the gases through the over the catalyzer, it is essentlal that all dust bags. During the cleaning of the bags, more or solid matter e removed from the gases 0r less dust filters through the mterstices bebefore they are brought into contact with tween the strands of the fabric, and the fabg the catalyzer. The dust present in the gases ric 1s also opened more or less by the agita- 75 from the burning sulfur, pyrites and blend tlon of the bags, so that when the gas is of ore treating or other furnaces, even if in again turned on some of the dust passes minute quantities, is sufficient 'to render the through the fabric,and this continues until platinum catalyzer inactive, since millions the openings become plugged up by the acof cubic feet of gas are passed through the cumulation of the dust on the interior of catalyzer chamber in a single campaign. Ac-

e bags. Although the amount of dust passcordingly, the accepted method for purilng through the fabric during and after each fying gas in the contact process is to pass cleaning is comparatively small, yet it is suf` it through dust collecting Hues and then ficient to prevent the continuous supply of through lscrubbers consisting of chambersA pure gas requisite for the manufacture 0f 85 flledlwith crushed quartz or other inert niasulfuric acid by the contact process.

terial over which water or acid is passed. A n accordance with the present invention, large proportion of the cost of manufacturthe continuous removal of all the particles ing contact acid is due to the expense of inof dust from the gases is secured by'ilterstalling and maintaining this scrubbing aping the gases successively through a ser1es 90 paratus, which has been considered essen` of ags or fabrics and periodically removtial to the successful and continuous prolng the accumulated dust from the fabrics duction of the pure gas required for thecomor bags only wh1ch .precede the final fabric mercial manufacture of contact acid. or bags of the ser1es. `In practising this t lstheobject of the present invention to method, the nal fabric from which the nomically removing by filtration all medisturbed or cleaned during the continuance chanically suspended particles of solld matof the process, while the preceding fabI'lCS ter in the sulfurfdioxld carrying gases utiof t e ser1es may be cleaned as required llzed 1n making sulfuric acid. to enable the dust laden gases to be suc- 100 Gases from ore treating and other furcessively passed through them. At each naces have heretofore been freed from dust cleamng of the first ser1es of fabrics a comto a eater or less extent by filtering paratively small quantity of dust will pass gr bags. While the gases are suiithe fabric, and this dust will gradually ac` fabrics.

' such apparatus vation;

cumulate upon the second of the series of The accumulation will be comparatively slow, however, and cleaning o the second fabric will be necessary only at infrequent intervals. Whatever minute quantities of dust may pass this fabricwll be removed by the third fabric, which is preferably the final fabric, from which the gas passes to the catalyzer chamber. The amount of dust which reaches this final fabric is so small in quantity that it may be to accumulate indefinitely without the formation of a layer thick enough to prevent the passage of the gases through This fabric is preferably supthat it will not be agitated by fluctuations inthe pressure and thus all danger of disturbing l mulates on of the apparatus is avoide To insure the removal of all the'. remaining dust by the passage of the gas through the final fabric, especially at the beginning o the process, the interstices of the fabric may be filled with dust before passing any gases therethrough.

This method of filtration enables a continually pure sulfur dioxid carrying gas suitable for use in making contact acid to be economically supplied from ore treating or other furnaces. The method may also be .used forsecuring a continually pure supply of gas for other purposes. suitable apparatus may be employed. 'in practising the method, and in the drawings one form of is indicated. In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus adapted for use in practising the invention; ig. 2 is an end eleand Fig. 3 a detail showing one manner of supporting the nal bags in fixe osition. f

The apparatus shown in the drawings comprises a bag chamber l which is divided into three sections 1, 2 and 3, and is provi ed with an inlet 5 through which the dust laden gases are supplied to the first section, an an outlet 6 through which the purified gases are discharged. Sections 1 and 2 are provided, with bags such as are usually employed in bag-house practice, the bags being suspended at the upper end from the casing and may be shaken by means of the movable frames 422 attached to the suspending ro s 23. The bottom of the bags are attached to the usinl collars or thimbles of the thimble fioor 8. Section?) is provided with bags 9 which are supported in fixed position by a cylinder 10 of wire cloth which surrounds the lower thimble 11 and the upper closed `thimble 12. The bags are retained in position on the wire cylinders by cords 13.

low the thiinble floor are closed hoppers 14, 15 Aand 16, through which the; gases are supplied to the respective sections.

Acarried by the gases is retained by A pipe 17 connects section 1 of the casing with the hopper 15, and a pipe 18 connects section with a fan 20 which is in turn connecte with the hopper 16 through a pipe 21.

'1n practising the method, the sulfur dioxid laden gases from the furnace, previously cooled to a degree not destructive to the fabric of the bags, are admitted through pipe 5 to hopper 14, and flow through the thimbles in thev floor 8 an through the bags 7 into section 1 chamber. he larger portion of the dust the bags in this section, and the partially purified gases flow through pipe 17 to hopper 15 and through the bags into section 2 of the bag chamber. Substantially all of the dust remaining in the gas is removed by 'in section 2, and the gas then passes through pipe 18, fan 20, and pipe 21 into the hopper 16, and through the fixed bags 9 into section 3 of the bag chamber. Any particles of dust which may have passed through the bags of section 2 are removed by the fixed bags of section 3, and the purified gas passes out through the outlet 6 an to the catalyzer chamber of the acid making apparatus.

The accumulation of dust on the interior of the bags in section willbe comparatively rapid, and these bags must be shaken or otherwise cleaned at frequent intervals in order that theflow of gas may not be seriously impede The accumulation o-f dust on the interior of the bags of section 2 will be comparatively slow, since the accumulation of the dust on the bags of section after each will quickly render the filtration effected by the bags of section nearly per ect. lt will be necessary, howintervals, to clean the and this will result in quantities of dust passing through the The quantity of ust passing through the bags of section 2 will, however, that the accumulation of dust upon the interior of the ,fixed bags of section 3 may continue-indefinitely, or for years, without impeding the passage of the gas throu h the fabric. Since the usual filter bag fa ric is rendered more efficient as a filtering material by the lation therein of dust which plugs the openings through the fabric, it is preferred to apply a thin layer of dust or similar material to the interior of the section 3.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention, what is claimed is 1. The method of purifying vthe dust laden gases from ore treating and other nated With the bags 'nsy aCCllmlldust preparatory tol filtering I use, and periodically removing the accumuonly Which A ing passing the gases through a series of movable filtering mediums whereby the bulk of the 1 dust which accumulates upon the.

material can be periodicallyremoved, successively removing portions of the dust as it progresses through the series of filtering mediums and leading the gas into a fiXed filtering medium for removing the last traces of dust.

4. The method of treating sulfur dioXid carrying gases from ore treating and other furnaces to obtain a dust free gas consisting in passing the gas through a series of movable filtering. fabrics the first of the series to remove the bulk of the dust and to l be periodically discharged of the dust, the next in the series to remove most of the dust resulting from the first treatment and to be periodically discharged of dust at less frequent intervals than the first fabric and finally leading the purified gas through a fixed dust impregnated fabric to remove the p last traces of dust.

.CARLTONl F. MUORE. Witnesses:

A. e. BRIGGY'. K. JORDAN- 

